This is a utility that allows you to start Linux from MS-DOS. It's a good
alternative to using LILO to boot your machine, and is probably a lot safer
for beginners to deal with.
To use it, install Linux. Skip the LILO installation, but make a bootdisk at
the beginning of the system configuration process. Boot your system, and copy
the kernel (/vmlinuz) to your DOS partition. You may have had this mounted
somewhere when you installed Linux. If not, you'll have to mount it yourself
with a command like:
mount /dev/hda1 /mnt -t msdos
You can look to see which partitions are DOS partitions with 'fdisk -l'.
Copy the kernel over:
cp /vmlinuz /mnt/vmlinuz
Next, get DOS going... and unzip the lodlin14.zip file:
unzip -d lodlin14.zip
or: pkunzip -d lodlin14.zip
Then, read the docs in C:\LOADLIN (or wherever you put it). They'll be a lot
more help than I will, since they were written by the program's author. :^)
For the record, all I had to do to get loadlin.exe to boot my Linux partition
was:
1. Put this as the first line of CONFIG.SYS:
DEVICE=C:\LOADLIN\BIOSINTV.SYS
2. Made sure the CONFIG.SYS loaded EMM386.SYS.
3. Booted my Linux system with this command:
loadlin c:\vmlinuz root=/dev/hdb3 ro
If you use UMSDOS, you can use syntax like this as well:
loadlin c:\vmlinuz root=c: rw
Again, see the docs that come with LOADLIN for complete details on all the
options, including the most complete list I've seen of options that can be
passed to the kernel at boot time. :^)
Good luck,
---
Patrick Volkerding
volkerdi@mhd1.moorhead.msus.edu